Cattreasure

When I got home today, I had what looked like an email from Paypal that said my account had suspicious activity. It included a link to Paypal and stated they needed info to protect my account. I did not open the email. I called Paypal. They asked me to send the info to spoof@paypal.com. Paypal telephone number: 888-221-1161.

It did not take them long to reply

Thank you for being a proactive contributor by reporting
suspicious-looking emails to PayPal's Abuse Department. Our security
team is working to identify if the email you forwarded to us is a
malicious email.
Paypal Will Always:
• Address our customers by their first and last name or business name of
their PayPal account
Paypal Will Never:
• Send an email to: "Undisclosed Recipients" or more than one email
address
• Ask you to download a form or file to resolve an issue
• Ask in an email to verify an account using Personal Information such
as Name, Date of Birth, Driver's License, or Address
• Ask in an email to verify an account using Bank Account Information
such as Bank Name, Routing Number, or Bank Account PIN Number
• Ask in an email to verify an account using Credit Card Information
such as Credit Card Number or Type, Expiration Date, ATM PIN Number, or
CVV2 Security Code
• Ask for your full credit card number without displaying the type of
card and the last two digits
• Ask you for your full bank account number without displaying your bank
name, type of account (Checking/Savings) and the last two digits
• Ask you for your security question answers without displaying each
security question you created
• Ask you to ship an item, pay a shipping fee, send a Western Union
Money Transfer, or provide a tracking number before the payment received
is available in your transaction history
READ!
Any time you receive an email about changes to your PayPal account, the
safest way to confirm the email's validity is to log in to your PayPal
account where any of the activity reported in the email will be
available to view. DO NOT USE THE LINKS IN THE EMAIL RECEIVED TO VISIT
THE PAYPAL WEBSITE. Instead, enter www.paypal.com into your browser to
log in to your account.
What is a phishing email?
You may have received an email falsely claiming to be from PayPal or
another known entity. This is called "phishing" because the sender is
"fishing" for your personal data. The goal is to trick you into clicking
through to a fake or "spoofed" website, or into calling a bogus customer
service number where they can collect and steal your sensitive personal
or financial information.
We will carefully review the content reported to us to certify that the
content is legitimate. We will contact you if we need any additional
information for investigating the matter. Please take note to the
security tips provided above as they may help to answer any questions
that you may have about the email you are reporting to us.
Help! I responded to a phishing email!
If you have responded to a phishing email and provided any personal
information, or if you think someone has used your account without
permission, you should immediately change your password and security
questions.
You should also report it to PayPal immediately and we'll help protect
you as much as possible.
1. Open a new browser and type in www.paypal.com.
2. Log in to your PayPal account.
3. Click "Security and Protection" near the top of the page.
4. Click "Identify a problem."
5. Click "I think someone may be using my account without permission."
6. Click "Unauthorized Account Activity."
Thank you for your help making a difference.
Every email counts. By forwarding a suspicious-looking email to
spoof@paypal.com, you have helped keep yourself and others safe from
identity theft.
Thanks,
The PayPal Team
***********************************************************************
Please do not reply to this email. If you need to follow up, please
follow the steps above to access your account and utilize the Contact Us
resources from our site.
***********************************************************************

Shortly after this legitimate email from Paypal, I received this one:

Thanks for forwarding that suspicious-looking email. You're right - it
was a phishing attempt, and we're working on stopping the fraud. By
reporting the problem, you've made a difference!
Identity thieves try to trick you into revealing your password or other
personal information through phishing emails and fake websites. To learn
more about online safety, click "Security Center" on any PayPal webpage.
Every email counts. When you forward suspicious-looking emails to
spoof@paypal.com, you help keep yourself and others safe from identity
theft.
Your account security is very important to us, so we appreciate your
extra effort.
Thanks,
PayPal
This email is sent to you by the contracting entity to your User
Agreement, either PayPal Ince, PayPal Pte. Ltd or PayPal (Europe) S.à
r.l. & Cie, S.C.A. Société en Commandite par Actions, Registered Office:
5th Floor 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg RCS Luxembourg B 118
349.

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

I never follow links in an email supposedly from PayPal, CitiBank, eBay, or any of my accounts. I'll always login directly to my website to see what it might be about.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

I don't even open them. Very good advise.

Cattreasure

That is the best way to handle it. I know some people that are too excitable and trusting. They may click on the link in the email fully believing it is from Paypal. It did look like a Paypal email complete with a reference number in the upper right hand corner. I Just called them and warned them too. I suspect this may be from ebay being hacked. I just changed my password yesterday and today I get this.

topcat Loc: Alameda, CA

I get them often, but as it usually goes into my spam mail, I know that it isn't from paypal. I used to send them to paypal for their records, but I gave up on it and just delete them.
Never answer them.

cntry Loc: Colorado

NEVER, EVER, EVER follow a link to any banking institution or any site that has confidential information and that includes PayPal. Close whatever window you are in that has the link, open a new window and either use your shortcut or type in the address.

There's also been a lot of emails supposedly from the post office that people have been getting saying they have a package to pick up...don't click on any links, just delete them - the PO doesn't send emails.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Has anybody else been getting emails about their court date or something to that effect?

cntry Loc: Colorado

haven't seen or heard about any of them, but I don't think the court sends emails - they're kind of like the PO...how would they get your email address?

SteveR Loc: Michigan

It's a virus thing.

cntry Loc: Colorado

more than likely...
:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

dljen Loc: Central PA

Yes, I have.

Bangee5 Loc: Louisiana

Yes, I get those all the time. Do not open the attachments.

Courts do not contact people by E-Mail.

Cattreasure

A few days after Jerry posted regarding fake funeral home emails, I got one. I had a funeral to attend a couple of days later. Still did not and would not open it. There are always other ways to confirm info in an email.

jeking Loc: Northern Illinois

I got one of those a couple of years ago stating that I had to report to a court down south...in mid-February. I laughed, told my hubby I get to go on vacation to Louisiana for a court appearance and then deleted it.

I do get alot of "bank" vertification emails and, of course, there is a link attached to validate my account because they have noticed "unusual" activity on there. I just call the bank that the email came from, tell them the situation and they give me the abuse@------ email address. I sent it off and then delete.

It's crazy what is happening...and very sad.